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District of Columbia jobs and job market: layoffs, colleges and workforce help

District of Columbia’s unemployment rate is 5.6%. 4,575 open professional jobs are listed here. Employers filed 17 layoff notices in the last 12 months. Choose a county or city for the same picture closer to home.

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District of Columbia economy

  • 5.6%

    unemployment, Sep 2026

    6.6% the month before

  • 402,894

    in the labor force

    Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics

  • 672,079

    people in District of Columbia

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau

  • $106,287

    median household income

    Source: Census ACS

  • 71%

    of workers in white-collar occupations

    Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

District of Columbia outlook: Steady

Built from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census figures. It describes the area, not any one employer in it.

  • Private-sector jobs down 0.0% from 2022 to 2025
  • Population up 3.4% from 2020 to 2025
  • Unemployment 5.3%, down 1.5 points from a year ago
  • Sectors adding the most jobs: health care (+7,976 jobs)
  • Sectors losing the most jobs: other services (−3,149 jobs)

Learn and get funded in District of Columbia

District of Columbia layoffs

  • 17

    Layoff notices, last 12 months

  • 3,122

    workers named

    A floor: states may leave out counts

  • 17

    employers

Layoff notices filed in District of Columbia, newest first
Notice dateEmployerCity or countyWorkersTypeSource
Democratic Congressional Campaign CommitteeWashington207LayoffState record
Democratic Senatorial Campaign CommitteeWashington111LayoffState record
Democratic Nation CommitteeTakes effect Nov 13, 2026Washington—LayoffState record
Golden SVCS, LLCTakes effect Oct 31, 2026Washington61LayoffState record
Savista, LLCWashington80LayoffState record
National Association of County and City Helath OfficialsWashington62LayoffState record
Elevance HealthWashington85LayoffState record
General Dynamic Information TechnologyTakes effect Sep 11, 2026Washington64LayoffState record
Medical Facility AssociatesTakes effect Sep 6, 2026Washington1,270LayoffState record
Ideal US Talent Systems Worker Op Co LLCTakes effect Jul 1, 2026Washington307LayoffState record

All layoff notices in the state

Get an email when a new notice is filed for District of Columbia

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Employers hiring most in District of Columbia

Employers with the most open professional roles on our job board right now.

  1. Anduril Industries98 open roles
  2. Shield AI83 open roles
  3. SpaceX46 open roles
  4. Medstar Health43 open roles
  5. Serco North America37 open roles
  6. Blood Cancer United30 open roles
  7. Noblis30 open roles
  8. Sargent & Lundy30 open roles
  9. LMI28 open roles
  10. Anduril27 open roles
  11. Confidential26 open roles
  12. M.C. Dean24 open roles

Largest employers headquartered in District of Columbia

Employee counts with a year are published figures (Wikidata). Other sizes are estimates from our company directory, not payroll counts.

Higher education in District of Columbia

  • 14

    public and private non-profit colleges

    Source: IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education

  • about 122,500

    students enrolled

    Estimated from size bands

Largest colleges in District of Columbia

Largest colleges in District of Columbia
CollegeCityTypeStudents
George Washington UniversityWashingtonPrivate non-profit 4-year20,000+
Georgetown UniversityWashingtonPrivate non-profit 4-year20,000+
American UniversityWashingtonPrivate non-profit 4-year10,000–19,999
Howard UniversityWashingtonPrivate non-profit 4-year10,000–19,999
The Catholic University of AmericaWashingtonPrivate non-profit 4-year5,000–9,999
Gallaudet UniversityWashingtonPrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999
Trinity Washington UniversityWashingtonPrivate non-profit 4-year1,000–4,999
University of the District of ColumbiaWashingtonPublic 4-year1,000–4,999
Institute of World PoliticsWashingtonPrivate non-profit 4-yearUnder 1,000
NewU UniversityWashingtonPrivate non-profit 4-yearUnder 1,000
Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of StudiesWashingtonPrivate non-profit 4-yearUnder 1,000
Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and FamilyWashingtonPrivate non-profit 4-yearUnder 1,000

All 14 District of Columbia colleges

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving District of Columbia. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.

Laid off in District of Columbia? How to file for unemployment in District of Columbia (steps, weekly amount and the appeal deadline).

2 American Job Centers in District of Columbia

Conferences in District of Columbia

Industry conferences and trade shows held in District of Columbia, the ones worth a trip for hiring managers and job seekers. 95 with dates announced.

Showing 24 of 136 conferences, 95 with dates announced.

All conferences

District of Columbia counties

Each county page has its own unemployment, layoffs, job openings, employers, colleges and job centers.

District of Columbia cities

Cities with open jobs, layoff notices, a job center or a college.

Laid off or looking for work in District of Columbia?

See what to do first, what District of Columbia unemployment benefits pay, and the jobs open near you.

See your options after a layoff

Sources: Census Bureau and BLS for population, income and unemployment; layoff notices from District of Columbia’s published record; job counts from our live job board, taken from employers’ own career sites; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers. District of Columbia unemployment benefits and severance rules.

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